Nigeria's Buhari to visit Niger, Chad in first trip

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.

Tuesday 02 Jun 2015 - 11:59 Makkah mean time-15-8-1436 President Buhari Abuja (IINA) – Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari will embark on his first official trip overseas this week when he travels to neighboring Niger and Chad to discuss the fight against Boko Haram, his spokesman said on Monday. Garba Shehu told Reuters that Buhari would visit both countries on Wednesday for talks with his counterparts about the militant group, which has killed thousands and left 1.5 million displaced in Africa's biggest economy over the last six years. At his inauguration on Friday, Buhari said he would crush Boko Haram and move the command center for military operations from the capital Abuja, to Maiduguri, the birthplace of the group's attempt to establish a state adhering to Shariah law. At least 30 people were killed in Maiduguri over the weekend in two bomb attacks that bore the group's hallmarks.  Troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon have helped Nigeria's armed forces to push back the insurgents who, at the start of the year, controlled a swathe of territory in Nigeria. However, the group has maintained a stronghold in the Sambisa forest reserve in the remote northeast of the country. AB/IINA